Gardening Q&A

Q:I have a south-facing garden wall -- painted white -- where I am trying to establish a creeping fig. It gets full sunlight most of the day and seemed to be doing OK at first, but now it seems to be bleaching out and actually burning to a degree. I had this on a fence in the San Francisco Bay area of California. I know it does well in more southern climes, and I have been worried that it might not make it this far north. Is there any chance that it will survive long enough to become acclimated to weather our winters?

Answer: Creeping fig, ficus pumila, is rated for zones 8-11. We're in zone 7. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture fact sheet, it can stand freezing for only a short duration. Yours has probably suffered from our recent winter temperatures. Frequently, winter injury shows up when the plant starts growing in the spring and summer. It is possible to get some out-of-zones plants established here, if we have mild winters for a few years. This past winter, however, we had some extremely cold weather, with several days below 10 degrees. These temperatures would have meant disaster for your fig. Having said that, every time I tell someone a plant won't grow here, I get e-mails from readers who have successfully adapted the plant to the micro-climate in their yard. Based on that, it wouldn't hurt to give it one more winter. If you have the same problem next spring, it would make sense to replace it with something better suited to zone 7.

Q:How can I get rid of wild violets in our lawn? We know we can't use Roundup because it will also kill the grass around the violets. Digging them by hand would be a real chore. Is there any product that you know of on the market we can use? We prefer an environmentally friendly product.

Answer: Wild violets are difficult to control. The Pest Management Guide from Virginia Cooperative Extension doesn't list anything as giving good control. The herbicide carfentrazone does list violets among the weeds it will suppress. However, you have to start treating them in April. It normally takes more than one application. By midsummer, they are so mature, the herbicide is less effective.

You may want to mark your calendar to treat them as soon as you see the first ones appear next April. Give them at least one more application in May or early June. As with any pesticide, it's critical that you read and follow the label directions carefully.

Q:We have several red tips that are 15 years old and close to 20 feet high. In one grouping, the red tips in the middle have developed spots on the leaves and some branches have died. I pruned back the bad area and disposed of the cut branches in a distant location. It looks like the pruned area may never grow back. On the healthier bushes, some of the leaves have fallen and some of the branches are black and cracked. Should we spray something on the remaining red tips? Is it worth it?

Answer: I actually like red tips, Photinia fraseri, very much, as long as they are healthy. However, once they get the fungus, it is practically impossible to control. The result is plants that look bad and don't provide the kind of screen they were designed to provide. The black, cracked branches are showing the "cankers" associated with this disease. There are fungicides registered for this problem. However, the recommended way to treat is to spray the new growth three times, 10 days apart. The first application is made when 90 percent of the plant is showing new little red leaves. Of course, we've already gone through that phase this spring. Most red tips also make a second flush of new growth in early summer. The three treatment process should be done again to protect that new growth. Unfortunately, the spots bear spores that will pop back up onto the plant, so removal of all of the fallen leaves is critical.

Richard Nunnally is a freelance writer and host of WCVE's monthly gardening show, "Virginia Home Grown." He can be contacted at .